College basketball practice doesn’t officially start until Friday, but already Wake Forest’s young team looks like a M*A*S*H unit.

No fewer than three of the Deacons showed up to their team’s media day Wednesday with visible signs of injuries, which isn’t a good sign for a team that is starting the season with only 10 scholarship players on its roster (one of which won’t be eligible until the ninth game).

Freshman point guard Tony Chennault was wearing a boot to protect a foot injury suffered while running during conditioning drills, freshman shooting guard J.T. Terrell had cast on his right hand because of a broken thumb suffered when teammate Melvin Tabb stepped on his hand after taking a charge and sophomore small forward Ari Stewart was nursing a concussion.

J.T. Terrell

Tony Chennault

When asked about the injuries, new coach Jeff Bzdelik joked that he was going to fire his team’s trainer.

He then expressed his belief (or is that hope) that all three players would be back and ready to play before the season opener against Hampton in the first round of the preseason NIT on Nov. 15.

“The way we’re approaching it with J.T. is that it’s a blessing in disguise,” Bzdelik said. “We know he can make shots. What he can do now is defend every possession in practice. We’re going to wrap that cast up and he will approach it in a way (of) turning a negative into a positive so he can defend and improve his game from that standpoint. He should have that cast off and be ready for the first game.

Ari Stewart

“Tony Chennault, with a sore foot, we’re erring on the side of caution by keeping him off that foot. He’s never worn orthotics and perhaps the right shoes, and he’s never run as much as he has now, so he’s gotten a little sore. There’s no fracture there, which is all good.

“Ari’s concussion is improving on a daily basis. We’re erring on the side of caution with him, because he did take a pretty good knock on the head.”

Bzdelik said there was a good chance both Chennault and Stewart, who hit his head on the floor during a pickup game last week, would be cleared to return to action for the first day of practice Friday.

Wake Forest is coming off a 20-11 season in which it advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament, but is starting over almost from scratch with a new coach and a roster dominated freshmen, sophomores, a transfer and seldom-used veterans Ty Walker (New Hanover) and Gary Clark.